Letter: Is football really worth brain injuries to players?

Many of us enjoy watching FSU football games, but at the same time we are concerned that the players are on the path to developing Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.

This disease, which has been seen in boxers since 1928, can lead to serious mental problems, such as in the case of NFL All-American Terry Long, who died after drinking a gallon of antifreeze. After his death, Dr. Bennett Omalu confirmed the diagnosis of CTE.

The disease cannot be confirmed in a living person but there is now even a Concussion Legacy Foundation to which anyone with possible CTE can donate their brain after they die. No treatment is currently available for the disease.

The movie “Concussion” depicts Omalu’s work with the brain of Pittsburgh Steelers center “Iron Mike” Webster.

The movie pointed out that some creatures, like woodpeckers and pelicans, are constructed to take hard impacts to the brain. However, there is no such protection for human boxers or football players, even with helmets. Players can be hit the equivalent force of running into a brick wall at 20 mph. Damage accumulates with time.

Joseph Cain, Tallahassee, jccain3@me.com

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